Bethlehem man is charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident

Updated 7:45 am, Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Rozell Whitehead, 53, was hit and killed by a motorist on Henry Johnson Blvd. in Albany Feb. 25, 2012.
()

Rozell Whitehead, 53, was hit and killed by a motorist on Henry...

Albany Police take measurements near the scene of an accident at the intersection of Henry Johnson Blvd. and Third St. on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012 in Albany, NY. Saturday evening a pedestrian was struck and killed at the intersection. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)

Albany Police take measurements near the scene of an accident at...

Albany Police take measurements near the scene of an accident at the intersection of Henry Johnson Blvd. and Third St. on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012 in Albany, NY. Saturday evening a pedestrian was struck and killed at the intersection. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)

Albany Police take measurements near the scene of an accident at...

Albany Police take measurements near the scene of an accident at the intersection of Henry Johnson Blvd. and Third St. on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012 in Albany, NY. Saturday evening a pedestrian was struck and killed at the intersection. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)

ALBANY — A 19-year-old suspect in a fatal hit-and-run will be arraigned on manslaughter and other charges Wednesday in City Court after he turned himself in to police Tuesday afternoon.

Ian Eckardt-Rigberg, a graduate of Bethlehem High School, was charged with second-degree manslaughter and leaving the scene of a personal injury accident resulting in death, both felonies, and several traffic violations in the death of Rozell Whitehead of Albany, police said. Eckardt-Rigberg drove his car at high speed and struck Whitehead, 53, near the intersection of Henry Johnson Boulevard and Third Street at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, causing the Albany man to hit the vehicle's hood, windshield and pavement, Albany police spokesman James Miller said.

The teenager surrendered to police with his attorney at around 5 p.m. Tuesday and was being held in a city cell, Miller said. Eckardt-Rigberg turned himself in to Bethlehem police shortly after the accident, and Albany police interviewed him. But he wasn't arrested until Tuesday because police needed to gather all the facts in the case, complete an accident reconstruction and interview three passengers who were in the 2007 Toyota Avalon, including the suspect's sister, Miller said at a 7:30 p.m. meeting with reporters outside the police department's South Station.

There was no indication drugs or alcohol played a role in the incident, Miller said.

Eckardt-Rigberg told his father that he struck Whitehead in an area without a crosswalk. In an interview, the father said his son told him that he had no time to stop, and he panicked and kept driving.

Eckardt-Rigberg resides on Fernbank Avenue in Bethlehem. He had received three speeding tickets in a six-month period, and was driving with a restricted license that permitted him to drive to work, school or medical appointments, according to the state Department of Motor Vehicles. Miller said Tuesday that he didn't know where Eckhardt-Rigberg was heading Saturday night.

Eckhardt-Rigberg had delivered papers for the Times Union after he stopped attending college.